


Gert, Meds, Chase

by endlesschaos



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Sort Of, idk no way this actually happened because these babies don't actually communicate very well, two idiots finally talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-19 09:57:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22842448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endlesschaos/pseuds/endlesschaos
Summary: Gert and Chase finally talk about why she had to get her meds the way she did.~Set somewhere between season 2 episodes 7 and 8. Like after their fight with Jonah and before the hotel.
Relationships: Chase Stein & Gertrude Yorkes, Chase Stein/Gertrude Yorkes
Kudos: 25





	Gert, Meds, Chase

**Author's Note:**

> i got this idea in my head i realized we weren't ever gonna get to see them talk about gert's near-death experience that topher saved her from. anyway, this is my first post in years and my first post in this fandom! please be nice!
> 
> oh and i wrote this, didn't read it, and now i'm posting it. sorry for any errors!!

_I didn’t mean to hurt anyone._

Or, at least, not anyone else.

_Especially you._

_I’m moving into my own room._

The words replayed in her head long after she’d excused herself from the family meeting. After seeing Victor Stein in his personal Jonah prison and hearing Chase say, _I don’t know how much more of this I can take_ , she didn’t know whether he was talking about being a runaway or being with her. It was her fault after all, and she could almost hear him say _because of you_ after _I had to say goodbye to both of my parents again today_. It wasn’t until he’d dismissed her completely that she wasn’t sure her meds could even help her anxiety. To her, _we can talk later_ , just meant _this is over._

After that, she holed herself up in her room, refusing to take part in anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary. If they weren’t on a mission, she was isolating herself, cutting herself off from anyone else so they didn’t have to get hurt either. Sertraline can only do so much when you’ve fucked up your life this badly.

All she’d wanted was to keep herself from hurting anyone else and she’d managed to hurt one of the two people she counted on and annoy the other. Even medicated she was just a burden.

She was broken out of her downward spiral by a soft knock at her door. She didn’t know who to expect, maybe Nico coming to tell her they had a mission to go on or a family meeting she had to be there for. The last person she expected was Chase. Yet there he was. Chase hadn’t knocked on her door – hadn’t had to – ever. When they first found the hostel and chosen rooms, she and Chase naturally decided to share. They’d been accustomed to sharing sleeping bags and a tent, sharing a bed only made sense. But he was knocking now and that made her stomach turn.

“Hey,” Chase said. “I was hoping we could talk.”

“Yeah, um, come in.” She moved out of the doorway and walked towards her – their – bed to sit. Immediately, she pulled her legs up to her chest, curling in on herself. She was never confident around Chase, but she was usually a lot better at hiding it. Tonight, she had no level ground to stand on. She’d been floating since he’d picked her up from the hospital, feeling like she was falling down a never-ending pit. Maybe this would be her rock bottom. Chase entered. He didn’t sit. She couldn’t help but feel like that was his way of keeping his distance physically and metaphorically. A way of saying, _I’m here to talk, but I might leave at any point in time._

“Why’d you do it? Why didn’t you just come to me?” He started without specifications, but it wasn’t like she could be confused about what he was referencing.

“I couldn’t take another night,” she said, voice softer and more timid than she wanted. “I was running out of time and I couldn’t see an end to it.”

“I could’ve helped. We could have figured it out – together.”

“I know that now, but I couldn’t think straight before. After Topher, I knew I had to get my medication before anyone else got hurt. Before _I_ hurt anyone else.” She didn’t mean to say it out loud, but there it was. Topher could be dead right now and it was her fault. She froze and he had to push her out of the way.

_No, Hermana._

The words haunted her. They were frantic and scared and she could hear Topher, her sister’s possible brother, Topher, the one who saw her crazy and offered to help, who gave her a solution. Not Topher, the desperate junkie. She saw him and she froze. Their eyes met, hers desperate, his worried. He didn’t freeze, he _moved_. He _saved_ her. Her anxiety killed him.

“What?” Chase’s eyes showed concern rather than frustration for her for the first time in days. He saw her for the first time in days. “Gert, Topher got hurt because of those rocks, not you.”

“Yeah, partially. But the car was on. I had time to move. I froze and now he could be dead. I did that. I couldn’t do that again. When I looked at Topher, I saw Molly. I saw _you_. I don’t know what I’d do if I froze up like that again and lost either of you, or anyone else here.” She was crying now. She hated it. She hated crying during arguments, she felt like she was manipulating the other person, but she couldn’t help it. Since running away, since being unmedicated, she had no control over her emotions. She couldn’t wait for the Sertraline to level her out, but in the meantime, she was still a mess.

Chase finally, _finally_ , sat on the bed next to her and pulled her into a hug. For the first time in days, she felt her entire body relax as she melted into him. He still felt tense, but she’d take what she could get.

“Gert, I’m right here. Molly’s in the other room. You still have both of us. Yeah, it really sucked when you surprised me with my mom, but I’m still here. Just, please, let me help you next time. You shouldn’t have to carry all this by yourself. No one should.” He said it so earnestly, she wanted to believe him. She was scared, though. They hadn’t spoken in days and it hurt her, but every time she looked at him, all she could see was the pain she caused staring right back. Could he really take her back after that?

“I’m sorry, Chase. I really am. I never wanted to hurt you. I hope you know that.” She leaned back to look into his eyes. She needed him to know that she meant it.

“I know, but give me a few days. I get it now, but I’m still frustrated.”

“Yeah, um, of course. I’ve got Didion to keep me distracted until then. That is if our parents don’t surprise us with another world-ending disaster first,” she tried joking, but it fell a little flat. Even to her own ears, she knew she didn’t sound right. Chase had a shadow of a smile on his face, though, so she felt okay.

They’d be okay. It may take a few days and everything around them suggested otherwise, but they’d get through it. They’d be okay.


End file.
